Scottish Television

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what  (a) discussions and  (b) correspondence he had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport prior to the Government's decision not to accept the recommendation by Ofcom that Scottish Television should be classified as a qualified independent producer.

Michael Moore: I am in regular contact with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on a range of matters important to Scotland. The decision not to reclassify Scottish Television as an independent producer for BBC commissions was taken following a wide-ranging consultation. The Government's approach will ensure a fair chance for small and independent production companies in Scotland.

Institute of Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Owen Paterson: The Department has not used the services of the Institute of Fiscal Studies in any of the past 10 years.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Richard Benyon: In response to the question the Department was not formed until 2001 and data before that year is not held. The following table shows the total spent with the Institute of Fiscal Studies by the department, including its executive agencies.
	
		
			   £ 
			 2001-02 - 
			 2002-03 - 
			 2003-04 2,643.75 
			 2004-05 3,389.88 
			 2005-06 1,321.88 
			 2006-07 - 
			 2007-08 - 
			 2008-09 - 
			 2009-10 -

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds: Finance

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the monetary value of payments by her Department to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was in each of the last five years; and in respect of which projects the payments were made.

Richard Benyon: In response to the question the payments made by the Department, which includes executive agencies, to the RSPB in each of the last five years are shown in the following tables:
	
		
			  DEFRA 
			  Project  £ 
			  2005-06  
			 (1)- 903,950.93 
			   
			  2006-07  
			 Environmental Stewardship agreements 255,425.56 
			 Restore or recreate wetland habitats. 6,000.00 
			 SSSI Project 55,754.00 
			 Reverse the decline in the number of farmland birds 79,500.00 
			 Priorities, targets and plans for halting biodiversity loss 95,039.55 
			 Statutory duties to protect and recover endangered species 478,232.00 
			 Facilities and services at national nature reserves 9,500.00 
			 To create new habitats and enhance the landscape 35,087.65 
			 Common agricultural policy reform implementation 5,000.00 
			 Darwin initiative 406,359.23 
			 Environmental Stewardship R and D 79,680.96 
			 ERDP team-north 141.00 
			 ERDP team-south 141.00 
			 Farmland conservation 185,417.23 
			 Marine core 28.50 
			 Organisation support costs 10,014.10 
			 Promotion of sustainable development 42,000.00 
			 R and D Marine Programme 23,932.86 
			 RSPB's ISB Round 7FM project 71,508.76 
			 SCP and waste programme evidence 30,460.00 
			 Sustainable livestock farming 2,791.55 
			 Wildlife and countryside publicity 423.00 
			 Wildlife habitats and biodiversity 175.94 
			  1,872,612.89 
			  2007-08  
			 Projects on integrated wildlife/landscape/access. 2,964.43 
			 Advice to DEFRA on priority and delivery of revised UK BAP targets. 81,900.30 
			 Review and confirm funding of partnerships and advice 42,664.51 
			 Support the recovery of priority species through research, 224,971.00 
			 To tackle the threat to our biodiversity... 2,500.00 
			 Mitigate effects of aggregate extraction on biodiversity, geology and landscape 122,365.94 
			 Efficient ongoing management of NNR series. 20,783.40 
			 SSSI projects 28,544.51 
			 Achievement of other SSSI remedies 7,500.00 
			 Maintain six year cycle of condition assessments on SSSIs 141,310.00 
			 Decline in farmland birds and remedial measures. 62,012.00 
			 NNR service standards. 10,000.00 
			 Measures introduced by part one of the CROW Act 36,423.00 
			 Interim Environmental Stewardship uptake targets. 77,294.00 
			 Co-ordinated programmes of funded advice 733.61 
			 Identify and co-ordinate existing and future business partner 5,125.00 
			 50 year vision for water and wetlands 5,000.00 
			 Communications strategy 2,000.00 
			 Darwin initiative 444,929.93 
			 England biodiversity strategy 10,000.00 
			 Environmental Stewardship R and D 65,651.84 
			 Habitat monitoring 4,697.42 
			 Organisation support costs 154,327.14 
			 Pesticides 18,442.00 
			 Promotion of sustainable development 72,000.00 
			 RSPB's ISB Round 7FM project 43,421.79 
			 SCP and waste programme evidence 10,490.00 
			 Waste statistical evidence 52,702.00 
			 Wildlife and countryside publicity 400.00 
			  1,851,359.45 
			  2008-09  
			 Advice to DEFRA on priority and delivery of revised UK BAP targets. 24,099.70 
			 SSSIs projects 2,475.00 
			 Deliver and evaluate the London programme 16,178.50 
			 Exemplary quality green space in place 33,258.00 
			 AI preparedness 128,747.10 
			 Axis II policy 172.50 
			 Biodiversity forum 37,339.00 
			 Biodiversity priority habitats 120,000.00 
			 Biodiversity priority habitats and species 95,370.61 
			 Biodiversity priority species 906,767.00 
			 Champion for the natural environment 805.00 
			 Clear integrated vision for environment and land use strategy 10,000.00 
			 Coastal projects 4,000.00 
			 Darwin initiative 381,558.80 
			 Environmental behaviours policy 6,093.00 
			 Environmental Stewardship R and D 277,544.16 
			 Habitat monitoring 9,626.81 
			 International sustainable development 8,000.00 
			 Key arable farmland bird options 13,527.97 
			 Land Management Advisory Service 2,740.25 
			 LBAPs and Secretariat support 132,475.68 
			 Marine environment research programme 110.00 
			 Municipal waste and culture change 854.00 
			 NNR buildings and maintenance and repair 1,793.79 
			 NNR land and buildings leases, rents and nature reserve agreements 17,397.63 
			 NNR visitor access improvements (destination and all other NNRs) 10,000.00 
			 Organisation support costs 386,375.82 
			 RSPB's ISB Round 7FM project 54,299.91 
			 SCP and waste programme evidence 58,239.00 
			 SDC programme-internal 90.00 
			 SSSI partnership projects to maintain and gain condition 49,047.50 
			 SSSI WES and RES agreements to maintain and gain condition 12,706.94 
			 Targeting for tactical plans 1,000.00 
			 Wildlife and countryside publicity 449.44 
			  3,066,201.20 
			  2009-10  
			 AI preparedness 133,135.43 
			 Darwin initiative 314,274.48 
			 Ecosystems approach project 529.00 
			 Environmental Stewardship R and D 175,622.08 
			 Habitat monitoring 2,391.13 
			 SCP and waste programme evidence 40,949.00 
			 Strategic relationship management: third sector strategy 1,200.00 
			 WAC corporate support 4,415.92 
			 Wildlife and countryside publicity 919.87 
			  673,436.91 
			 (1)- Data on projects for 2005-06 are not held. 
		
	
	
		
			  CEFAS: 2007-08 
			  Project  £ 
			 Purchase of photographic images 187.41

EADS

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Suffolk Coastal of 2 November 2010,  Official Report, column 669W, on the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company: contracts, what steps he is taking to ensure that EADS will meet its contractual obligations.

Bob Neill: In June this year we activated a key milestone in our contract with the main contractor, EADS (now branded Cassidian), for delivery of the FiReControl project. This required EADS to complete the main system in three control centres by mid-2011.
	Because their record has not improved on delivery of the project, we informed EADS on 8 November that we consider them to be in material breach of their obligations under the contract and required them to remedy the position in 20 working days.
	I have made it clear to EADS that they must deliver to time, cost and quality. The Government are not going to bail out this contractor with additional public funding. We are going to stand up for the interests of the taxpayer and the fire and rescue service.

Probation: Wales

Elfyn Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has had any recent discussions on transferring to the National Assembly for Wales responsibility for the Probation Service in Wales.

Crispin Blunt: There are no proposals to transfer overall responsibility for probation services from the Ministry of Justice. As such no discussions have been held or are planned about that matter with the Welsh Assembly Government. We continue to maintain a close working relationship with the Welsh Assembly Government at all levels in relation to devolved and non devolved responsibilities. This ensures that the commissioning and delivery of offender services take full account of the uniqueness in Wales.

Youth Justice

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to increase the number of sentencing options available in magistrates courts where the offender is a youth with no previous convictions and pleads guilty.

Crispin Blunt: Courts are required to give a referral order to a young person aged 10-17 who appears in court for the first time and pleads guilty, unless the offence is so serious that custody is warranted. The referral order is a restorative justice based order under which the young offender is referred to a youth offender panel consisting of two volunteers from the community advised by a member from the youth offending team.
	We are undertaking a full assessment of sentencing and will set out our proposals in a Green Paper to be published later this year. We'll do further consultation with the Magistrates Association and others.

Youth Justice

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many youths charged with each type of offence have been issued with more than one final warning in each of the last five years.

Crispin Blunt: The following table shows figures for juveniles who received a warning and who had received at least one previous warning, as recorded on the Police National Computer.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of juveniles who received a warning and who had been issued with at least one previous warning by offence category, 2005-09 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 Violence against the person 246 270 210 159 115 
			 Sexual offences 14 20 15 8 8 
			 Burglary 101 136 124 89 66 
			 Robbery 6 9 8 7 7 
			 Theft and handling stolen goods 496 579 537 432 374 
			 Fraud and forgery 21 24 19 21 14 
			 Criminal damage 103 133 96 68 61 
			 Drug offences 321 274 298 273 278 
			 Indictable motoring offences 1 4 - 2 - 
			 Other indictable offences 38 53 41 31 32 
			 Summary offences 883 1,105 1,045 872 669 
			 Total 2,230 2,607 2,393 1,962 1,624 
		
	
	The figures have been drawn from the police's administrative IT system, the police national computer, which, as with any large scale recording system, is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. The figures are provisional and subject to change as more information is recorded by the police. The PNC largely covers 'recordable' offences-these are all indictable and triable-either-way offences plus many of the more serious summary offences.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders applied to residents of  (a) the London borough of Bexley and  (b) London have been extended beyond their original end date in the last 12 months.

James Brokenshire: Data collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued and breached is collated at Criminal Justice System (CJS) area level, rather than for constituency area level.
	Information on ASBOs extended beyond their original date is not available. This information could be obtained only by reference to individual court files which could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Oxford West

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were  (a) made and  (b) breached in Oxford West and Abingdon constituency in the latest year for which figures are available.

James Brokenshire: Data collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued and breached is collated at criminal justice system (CJS) area level, rather than constituency area level. Oxford West and Abingdon are within the Thames Valley CJS area.
	The latest figures cover the period 31 December 2008, and show that in 2008, 43 ASBOs were issued and 24 were proved in court to have been breached for the first time in the Thames Valley CJS area.

Asylum: Deportation

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum seekers have absconded after receiving deportation notices since May 2010.

Damian Green: We have assumed 'deportation notices' to mean 'removal notices' Between the 1 May 2010 and 31 October 2010, 176 failed asylum seekers absconded after being served with removal directions.

Departmental Public Expenditure

David Mowat: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her Department's capital expenditure per head was in  (a) London and  (b) the North West in each of the last five years.

Nick Herbert: The Country and Regional Analysis is a yearly exercise that Departments participate in that allocates departmental spending to regions based on who benefits from that spending, not necessarily where the spending takes place.
	On that basis, the results for the Home Office capital expenditure per head per specified region was as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   London  North West 
			 2005-06 4.45 2.80 
			 2006-07 8.05 5.62 
			 2007-08 7.21 4.72 
			 2008-09 8.07 5.31 
			 2009-10 8.63 6.01

Telecommunications: Databases

Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to put her Department's Interception Modernisation Programme on a statutory footing; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Herbert: As made clear in the strategic defence and security review, the Government will continue to build on an existing programme of work to preserve the ability of the law enforcement, security and intelligence agencies to obtain communications data and to intercept communications within the appropriate legal framework. We will legislate to ensure this is compatible with the Government's approach to civil liberties and use of communications capabilities. Details of this legislation will be announced in Parliament in due course.

Afghanistan and Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of post-traumatic stress disorder have been recorded among  (a) Royal Marines and  (b) army infantry soldiers who have served in (i) Iraq and (ii) Afghanistan.

Andrew Robathan: The following table details the number of patients attending a Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) initially assessed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2009. The figures reflect patients who have deployed as part of Op TELIC and/or Op HERRICK. Some Service personnel may have deployed to both theatres, hence the sub-totals exceed the overall total.
	
		
			   Royal Marines  Army Infantry 
			 Op TELIC and/or Op HERRICK 54 74 
			 Op TELIC 21 49 
			 Op HERRICK 50 47 
		
	
	These figures report only new attendances (and new episodes of care since July 2009) during the period, not all those who were receiving treatment. Equivalent verified data prior to 2007 is not available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Personnel deployment data relating to Afghanistan is not available prior to 14 October 2005. Therefore, it is possible that some patients reporting with PTSD, and who deployed prior to that date, have not been captured within these statistics.
	This answer was produced using data from the Annual UK Armed Forces Mental Health Report which includes statistics on PTSD. This information can be found on the Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) website under All Other Publications and Health/Medical Statistics.

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion of 17 June 2010,  Official Report, column 499W, on the Atomic Weapons Establishment, what reviews are currently underway at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Liam Fox: Reviews are being undertaken in the following areas: implementation of measures identified within the Strategic Defence and Security Review; the efficient and effective operation of the AWE contract; and, the future contracting strategies for future phases of the Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme.

Chief Coroner

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the likely effects of the implementation of the proposal to close the Chief Coroner's Office on the families of armed forces personnel who have died in active service.

Nick Harvey: holding answer 12 November 2010
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 8 November 2010,  Official Report, column 9, to the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull North (Diana Johnson).

Departmental Official Hospitality

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each of its Ministers in  (a) September and  (b) October 2010.

Liam Fox: On 13 and 26 September 2010 and 13 October 2010, the Under-Secretary of State and Lords Spokesman on Defence hosted a meeting to brief other Members of the House of Lords and ex-service Chiefs on Defence issues. The total cost for these events were £45, £63 and £116 respectively.

France: Nuclear Weapons

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many French Government personnel have visited  (a) the Atomic Weapons Establishment and  (b) HM Naval Base Clyde in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2010 to date; and which (A) staff of his Department and (B) AWE staff have visited French military nuclear establishments in each of those years.

Liam Fox: The number of French Government personnel who visited the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) and HM Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde in 2009 and 2010 to date is as follows:
	
		
			   2009  2010 
			 AWE 42 42 
			 HMNB Clyde 67 22 
		
	
	The AWE figures include visits by Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique/ Direction des Applications Militaires (CEA/DAM) personnel, as CEA/DAM is the French Government's equivalent of AWE. The figures for HMNB Clyde exclude the French Navy Exchange Officer permanently attached to the staff of Flag Officer Sea Training (North) and the crews of visiting French naval vessels. French Government personnel involved in the joint operation (and associated training) of the NATO Submarine Rescue System based at the Clyde have been included.
	70 AWE scientific, engineering and technical staff visited French military nuclear establishments in 2009, and 74 in 2010 to date. To attempt to identify those civilian and military personnel, across the Department (including members of the armed forces), who have also made such visits would incur a disproportionate cost, as this information is not held centrally or in the format requested.

Nuclear Weapons: Finance

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what expenditure his Department has incurred on the Nuclear Weapons Capability Sustainment Programme in each year since the programme's inception; and what estimate he has made of such expenditure in each remaining year of the programme.

Liam Fox: The Nuclear Warhead Capability Sustainment Programme (NWCSP) began in 2005 following the announcement by the then Secretary of State for Defence on 19 July 2005,  Official Report, column 59WS, of increased funding to the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE).
	Expenditure since 2005-06, and the provisional figure for the current financial year is as follows:
	
		
			   £ million at outturn prices 
			 2005-06 493 
			 2006-07 687 
			 2007-08 894 
			 2008-09 800 
			 2009-10 870 
			 2010-11 (1)932 
			 (1) Provisional 
		
	
	Since 1 April 2008, financial planning for AWE has made no distinction between management and operation costs and those associated with the NWCSP.
	Future planned expenditure at AWE will be subject to cost savings measures identified in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). Release of further detail may prejudice the Ministry of Defence's negotiating position with its commercial suppliers and final savings figures will depend on detailed SDSR-related implementation. The MOD is therefore not prepared to release further financial information at this time.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will commission research into the incidence of combat stress in operators of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence takes seriously the mental health of all armed forces personnel, and a local study of the psychological health of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) pilots is currently in progress. Historically, the RAF Medical Services have not detected any instances of acute stress reaction in any pilot responsible for operation of UAVs.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the budget was of the Transport Security and Contingencies Directorate of his Department for 2010-11; and what that budget is expected to be in  (a) 2011-12,  (b) 2012-13 and  (c) 2013-14.

Norman Baker: holding answer 8 November 2010
	The budget dedicated to Transport Security and Contingencies in 2010-11 was £28.7 million. It is expected to fall by around 25% over the period of the spending review. During this time, the Department for Transport is expecting to transfer certain functions to the Civil Aviation Authority, at which point the costs of delivering these functions will be recovered from the aviation industry.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many personnel at each grade work for the Transport Security and Contingencies Directorate of his Department; and how many he expects there to be at each grade in  (a) April 2011,  (b) April 2012,  (c) April 2013 and  (d) April 2014.

Norman Baker: holding answer 8 November 2010
	The Central Department and its Agencies identified the following number of permanent staff working in Transport Security and Contingencies as at 31 October 2010:
	
		
			  Pay band  Transport Security and Contingencies 
			 AA 0.0 
			 AO 16.0 
			 EO 21.6 
			 HEO 101.6 
			 SEO 43.0 
			 Grade 7 23.8 
			 Grade 6 6.0 
			 SCS 5.0 
			 Total 217.0 
			  Note: Based on full time equivalent (FTE) figures which indicates the number of positions, including part time posts, rather than number of individuals. 
		
	
	The Department is in the process of reviewing its structure in light of the Government spending review. Future staff numbers will be determined as part of that process.

Aviation: Security

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the statement by the Home Secretary on 1 November 2010,  Official Report, column 633, on the aviation security incident, which companies and industry bodies were invited to the meeting he chaired in the week of 1 November 2010 on aviation security; and on what date that meeting took place.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 8 November 2010
	The meeting mentioned in the Home Secretary's statement took place on Thursday 4 November. The companies and organisations in the list were invited to the meeting.
	TNT
	Fedex
	DHL
	UPS
	Virgin
	British Airways
	BMI
	BAR-UK
	(Board of Airline Representatives)
	British Air Transport Association
	Gatwick Airport
	Manchester Airports Group
	Birmingham Airport
	BAA
	Airport Operators Association
	Royal Mail
	Home Office
	TUI
	Easyjet
	British International Freight Association

Aviation: Security

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the extent of the threat to aircraft from malicious software.

Philip Hammond: We are aware of this potential vulnerability and, as with all possible threat scenarios we keep this threat under review, working in conjunction with other Government experts and industry.

Departmental Manpower

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the  (a) staff numbers and  (b) expenditure on staff costs as a proportion of their 2010-11 budget is for each agency sponsored by his Department.

Norman Baker: holding answer 27 October 2010
	 The following table shows  (a) the staff numbers and  (b) expenditure on staff costs as a proportion of the 2010-11 budget for each agency sponsored by the Department for Transport.
	The staff numbers are the 2009-10 figures as published in the 2009-10 Department for Transport resource accounts.
	
		
			   Staff  number s  Staff expenditure as percentage of budget 
			 DVLA 5,906 30.44 
			 DSA 2,525 44.00 
			 HA 3,747 2.68 
			 VOSA 2,444 43.60 
			 MCA 1,157 32.40 
			 VCA 139 51.00 
			 GCDA 310 55.52 
		
	
	Highways Agency figure appears to be low, this is because Highways Agency has a very large programme budget in excess of £4 billion due to the number of major projects the agency manages.

Large Goods Vehicles: Accidents

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the incidence of the involvement of  (a) foreign-registered and  (b) all heavy goods vehicles in road traffic accidents in the latest period for which figures are available.

Michael Penning: The information requested can be found in table 53 on page 179 of Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2009, a copy of which is available in the Libraries of the House.

Children: Maintenance

Alok Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in transferring clients of the Child Support Agency under the pre-2002 scheme to the current scheme; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Miller: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress has been made in transferring clients of the Child Support Agency under the pre-2002 scheme to the current scheme; and if he will make a statement.
	The problems encountered by the Child Support Agency following the launch of the Reforms in 2003 resulted in a decision to defer the bulk transfer of cases from the old scheme (launched in 1993), to the current scheme (launched in 2003). In the meantime, cases are only migrated from the old computer system to the new computer system where they had a link with a case on the new system that made this necessary.
	This decision was kept under review and in February 2006 the previous Government asked Sir David Henshaw to review the entire system of child maintenance. His subsequent report led to the Child Maintenance and Other Payments Act 2008, which makes provision for a new system of child maintenance known as the "future scheme".
	The Government continues to develop plans for a future scheme that is intended to replace both the existing schemes. As set out in the Department for Work and Pensions' business plan, the Government is currently considering the scope of existing plans for child maintenance and future delivery and this stage of work will last until February 2011.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.

Disability Benefits: East Lothian

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in East Lothian constituency receive  (a) disability living allowance,  (b) incapacity benefit and  (c) employment and support allowance.

Maria Miller: The information available is in the table.
	
		
			  Claimants of employment support allowance, disability living allowance and incapacity benefit and severe disablement allowance, East Lothian parliamentary constituency 
			  Benefit  Number 
			 Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance 3,490 
			 Disability living allowance (in payment) 5,300 
			 Employment and support allowance 710 
			  Notes:  1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  2. For Disability living allowance the totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance.  3. A claimant can be in receipt of more than one of these benefits and will therefore be counted for each benefit they receive.  4. Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment support allowance from October 2008.  5. Constituencies used are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010.   Source:  DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study as at February 2010.

Disability Living Allowance: Care Homes

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people in residential homes and colleges in  (a) each Parliamentary constituency,  (b) Scotland,  (c) England,  (d) Wales and  (e) Northern Ireland who will be affected by the proposed removal of the mobility element of disability living allowance; and what estimate he has made of the average reduction in payments to such individuals.

Maria Miller: Reliable estimates of disability living allowance claimants in residential care homes are not available other than on a Great Britain wide basis. Information for Northern Ireland cannot be provided as social security is a devolved matter for Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly. We estimate approximately 60,000 people who claim disability living allowance and live in residential care will be affected by this measure in Great Britain.
	The disability living allowance mobility component is paid at a lower rate of £18.95 and a higher rate of £49.85. Of the 60,000 recipients affected by the measure approximately 30,000 are currently paid the lower rate and 30,000 are paid the higher rate.

Employment and Support Allowance

Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of contributory employment and support allowance in the support group there are; and how many in that group cite a mental health condition as the primary reason to claim.

Maria Miller: The number of contributory employment and support allowance claimants under the mental and behavioural disorders category by stage of claim-February 2010-can be found in the following table.
	The table firstly gives information on the total ESA caseload and those who have a contributory element to their award. Beneath that it provides the numbers of those specifically with a mental/behavioural health condition and whether they fall into the ESA phase of assessment, work related activity group or support group. These are also broken down further to show the number of these who have a contributory element to their award.
	The ESA phase is derived from payment details held on the source system. Where the claimant is not in receipt of any benefit payment, but receiving national insurance credits, then the stage of benefit is shown as unknown.
	
		
			 Stage of claim 
			   All  Unknown  Assessment  Support group  Work related group 
			 All ESA claimants 479,430 55,570 312,330 30,610 80,910 
			 ESA claimants with a contributory element 203,680 90 143,430 17,090 43,070 
			   
			  Mental and Behavioural category  
			 All ESA claimants 182,880 17,310 124,740 9,130 31,700 
			 ESA claimants with a contributory element 62,120 - 46,190 3,190 12,740 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. ESA statistics by medical condition can be found at http://83.244.183.180/ESA/esa_additional_feb10.xls 3. Benefit type: The type of ESA is defined as pay status at the caseload date. This may differ to the status at the start or end of the claim. 4. Employment and support allowance (ESA) replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid. 5. Stage of ESA claim: The stage of claim is derived from the amount of payment a claimant receives. There are a number of cases where the stage is unknown, these are claimants which do not receive any payment for ESA (These are those who receive national insurance credits only). 6. ICD (disease) code: Causes of incapacity are based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, published by the World Health Organisation. Medical condition is based on evidence provided at the start of the claim, this in itself does not confer entitlement to employment support allowance and may not represent a claimant's most recent medical condition. For ESA claimants data on medical condition are only available from February 2010 onwards.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100%

Housing Benefit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of housing benefit in each constituency in the last 12 months; and what the monetary value of the average weekly award was.

Steve Webb: The information is not available. At present geographic breakdowns are only available for local authorities and government office regions. However, an exercise is being undertaken to add other geographical areas to the data which will include parliamentary constituencies.

Social Security Benefits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to encourage people to take up their benefit entitlements.

Steve Webb: Latest estimates of take-up of all income-related benefits in 2008-09 were published in June 2010. The figures show that there was £38.1 billion claimed across all income related benefits representing between around 75% and 85% take-up by expenditure. The take-up report is available on line at:
	http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/index.php?page=irb_2
	We want to make sure that everyone is getting all of the help that they are entitled to which is why the Department makes information available in various locations including doctors' surgeries, welfare rights groups and Jobcentre Plus offices to ensure that people are aware of the benefits to which they may be entitled and how to claim them. Information on benefits is also available on the Department's website:
	http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm
	With the introduction of universal credit from October 2013, which will replace six working age means tested benefits; people will be better placed to find out what benefits they can get.

Social Security Benefits

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has plans to increase internet access for benefit claimants.

Chris Grayling: The Department is committed to providing accessible and attractive online services for our customers and we have plans in place to deliver more and more of our services online. We recognise that some customers do not have access to the internet and so are working with a range of partners to provide information to customers on where and how to get internet access.
	Jobcentre Plus has recently introduced Digital Champions in every Jobcentre. Their role is to promote digital take up and to find what support is available locally for customers to get online through partner organisations and share this information with colleagues to help and encourage customers to get online.
	In addition, DWP is helping residents in sheltered housing schemes to benefit from access to equipment, training and support to get online. By the end of March 2011 196 sheltered housing schemes will have received funding for digital equipment.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of his Department budget for 2011-2012 will be allocated to voice analysis for benefit fraud detection purposes.

Chris Grayling: No funding has been allocated to voice analysis for benefit fraud detection purposes in 2011-12. The Department has discontinued interest in voice risk analysis.

Children in Care

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of children in care were adopted in each of the last five years.

Tim Loughton: The requested information is available as part of the Statistical First Release, Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)-year ending 31 March 2010. This can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000960/index.shtml
	Information on the number and proportion of children looked after who were adopted in each of the last five years is found in table D1. These tables can be found in the excel link titled 'England Summary tables'.

Children in Care

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children were  (a) taken into care (excluding respite care),  (b) left care and  (c) were adopted in each year from 1980 to 2005; how many left care through adoption in each such year; and how many were in care on 31 March in each such year.

Tim Loughton: The information requested on  (a) the number of children taken into care (excluding respite care) from 1980 to 2005 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost. Information on the number of children who were taken into care was published for the first time in 2010. This table shows information for year ending 31 March 2006 to 2010 and can be found in table C4 (in the excel link titled "England Summary tables") available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000960/index.shtml
	Information on the number of children  (b) who left care,  (c) who were adopted and the number who were in care on 31 March can be found via the Children Looked After publications, as follows:
	Children Looked After by Local Authorities Year ending 31 March 1998, England available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000506/index.shtml
	Table A: Number of children who were looked after at 31 March for year ending 31 March 1988 to 1998.
	Table H: Number of looked-after children adopted during year ending 31 March 1994 to 1998.
	Children Looked After by Local Authorities Year ending 31 March 2001, England available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000509/index.shtml
	Table S: Number of children who ceased to be looked after during the year ending 31 March 1997 to 2001 by duration of latest period of care.
	Table H: Number of looked-after children adopted during the year ending 31 March 1997 to 2001.
	Children Looked After by Local Authorities, Year Ending 31 March 2005 available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/VOL/v000646/index.shtml
	Table AB: Children who ceased to be looked after during the year ending 31 March 2001 to 2005 by gender and age on ceasing.
	Table AM: Looked-after children adopted during the year ending 31 March by gender, age at adoption, final legal status, duration of final period of care, age on starting final period of care and time between best interest decision and placement for adoption, 2001 to 2005.
	Both of these tables can be found in the additional information titled "Volume 1-National Tables".
	Number of children looked after at 31 March by local authority, 1997 to 2005. This can be found in the additional information spreadsheet titled "Children looked after at 31 March by local authorities, 1997 to 2005".
	Information on the number of children looked after at 31 March is not available prior to 1988. Information on the number of children who ceased to be looked after prior to 1997 and information on the number of looked-after children adopted prior to 1994 can be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
	Historical data in the above statistical releases may differ from that included in older publications. This is mainly due to the implementation of amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Greater London

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students in  (a) Tottenham constituency and  (b) Haringey received education maintenance allowance in each year since 2004-05; and how much was paid in that allowance to pupils in each such area in each such year.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Tottenham with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Education Maintenance Allowance: Staffordshire

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on education maintenance allowance payments in  (a) Tamworth and  (b) Staffordshire in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Tamworth with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Education: Finance

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the HM Treasury press notice on 2010-11 savings of 24 May 2010, what definition of frontline funding his Department uses; and how much he plans to allocate to frontline funding for schools in 2011-12.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 19 October 2010
	The core school baselines we are protecting are: funds allocated for one to one tuition; funds allocated for "every child programmes" such as Every Child a Reader; extended schools; school lunch grant; School Standards Grant; School Development Grant; Specialist schools grant; Ethnic Minority Achievement grant; The National Strategies' budgets that were allocated to schools; Dedicated Schools Grant, and funds allocated for Academies.
	The total planned schools budget for 2011-12 is £36.1 billion.

Education: Finance

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department issues to local education authorities on reduction of their schools budgets.

Nick Gibb: Following the spending review, funding for the schools budget will increase in cash terms by £3.6 billion by 2014-15-this is a 0.1% increase in real terms in each year. The management of the schools budget by local authorities is governed by the School Finance (England) Regulations: guidance is issued along with the regulations. The Department is currently consulting on new regulations to come into force in April 2011.

Family and Parenting Institute

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to review the  (a) work programme and (b) budget of the Family and Parenting Institute; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 2 November 2010
	Family and Parenting Institute have a long standing financial relationship with the Department and their work programme is regularly reviewed. We have announced the overall funding settlement for the Department for Education, but we are still in the process of determining what this means for specific activities-including future funding for activities undertaken by the Family and Parenting Institute. We will make further announcements about funding for specific programmes and organisations over the coming weeks.

Free Schools

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what qualifications teachers employed by free schools will be required to have.

Michael Gove: Innovation, diversity and flexibility are at the heart of the free schools policy. We want the dynamism that characterises the best independent schools to drive up standards in the state sector. In this spirit we will not be setting overly prescriptive requirements in relation to qualifications: instead we will expect business cases to demonstrate how governing bodies intend to guarantee the highest quality of teaching and leadership in their schools. No school will be allowed to proceed unless its proposals for quality teaching are soundly based. Ensuring each free school's unique educational vision is translated into the classroom will require brilliant people with a diverse range of experience.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department has spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in the last 24 months.

Tim Loughton: Department for Education financial records show that between October 2008 an October 2010 the Department spent £736,000 on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Pre-school Education: North West

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many three year olds attended pre-school education in the  (a) maintained,  (b) private and  (c) voluntary sector as a proportion of the total number of eligible children in each super output area in the North West in the latest period for which figures are available.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 25 October 2010
	The total number of three-year-olds attending pre-school education in the north-west region is given in the table. Numbers for each super output area in the north-west region have been placed in the Libraries.
	
		
			  Number of three-year-old children( 1, 2 ) attending pre-school education maintained( 3) , private( 4) , voluntary and independent providers, north-west region, January 2010 
			  Type of provider  Number( 5) 
			 Maintained schools(2, 3) 36,730 
			 Private providers(4) 2,140 
			 Voluntary providers 33,270 
			 Independent schools(2) 9,200 
			 Total 81,330 
			 (1) Children aged three as at 31 December 2009.  (2) Number of three-year-olds may include some children aged two.  (3) Includes maintained nursery, primary, and special schools.  (4) Includes childminder networks, local authority day nurseries, private providers and other providers.  (5 )Numbers rounded to nearest 10.   Source:  Early Years Census 2010 and School Census 2010. 
		
	
	Figures are usually reported for private, voluntary, and independent providers as well as maintained schools. Therefore figures for independent schools have been included in the answer for completeness.
	The number of three-year-olds attending pre-school education as a proportion of the eligible children is not available. Since all children are entitled to Early Years provision, the proportion would be based on the total three-year-old population in each area. However, ONS population estimates are not available on a comparable basis to the data used in the answer and population estimates are not accurate at the low level of super output area.
	The latest figures on early education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 16/2010 "Provision for children under five years of age in England: January 2010", available on the Department's website:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000935/index.shtml

Pupils: Disadvantaged

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether local education authorities will have discretion in passing on the pupil premium to schools;
	(2)  what the monetary value of the pupil premium will be per qualifying pupil in each year to 2014-15; and what account he plans to take of geographic location in determining the level of that premium;
	(3)  how much he plans to spend on the pupil premium in each year to 2014-15;
	(4)  whether local education authorities will continue to receive funding for education welfare services and services for pupils with special educational needs following the introduction of the pupil premium;
	(5)  when he plans to announce the criteria to be used to determine the pupils to qualify for the pupil premium.

Nick Gibb: holding answer 4 November 2010
	The Government held a public consultation from 26 July to 18 October on school funding for 2011-12 and the introduction of the pupil premium, covering the methodology for allocation of the premium.
	We set out in the consultation document that the conditions of grant for the pupil premium will require local authorities to pass it on in its entirety to maintained mainstream schools using specific defined per pupil amounts, for every relevant pupil in years from reception to year 11.
	We are currently considering responses to the consultation and will make a statement on the outcome shortly.
	The pupil premium will rise progressively to £2.5 billion over the spending review period. We will announce the pupil premium allocations for 2011-12 before the end of the year.
	There is no specific earmarked funding for education welfare services-councils fund these services from a combination of formula grant and council tax. It is for councils to decide how much they wish to spend on these services. Services for pupils with special educational needs will continue to be funded through the dedicated schools grant in 2011-12.
	We will announce further information about the pupil premium before the end of the year.

Young People: Voluntary Organisations

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effects of the outcome of the spending review on statutory funding for voluntary sector organisations working with children, young people and families; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah Teather: holding answer 25 October 2010
	The voluntary sector plays, and will continue to play, a significant role in reforming services for children, young people and families. We are opening up markets and will enable the voluntary sector to become better involved in delivering key services such as children's centres and youth services-and we will work with local authorities to ensure that they commission services from the sector.
	While the voluntary sector cannot be immune from reductions in public expenditure, the spending review announced that Government will direct around £470 million over the SR period to support capacity building in the sector, including an endowment fund to assist local voluntary and community organisations. As part of this, the Government will provide funds to pilot the National Citizen Service and establish a Transition Fund of £100 million to provide short term support for voluntary sector organisations providing public services. The sector will also be able to access funding from the Big Society Bank, which will bring in private sector funding in addition to receiving all funding available to England from dormant accounts.
	Ministers will set out in due course the levels of funding that will be available through the SR period for voluntary sector organisations working with children, young people and families.

Carbon Emissions

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the likely efficacy of carbon sinks by 2050.

Gregory Barker: In the absence of significant emissions reductions, some weakening of global carbon sinks may occur by the end of this century but complete failure of either land or ocean carbon sinks is very unlikely.
	Recent work from the UK AVOID programme which considers global emissions reductions of 50% by 2050, suggests little change in sink strength by the middle of this century.

Carbon Emissions: Housing

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the Government's consultation on the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target will include heating systems.

Gregory Barker: A consultation on the role that appliances, consumer electronics and other low value items should play in the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target (CERT) scheme will be launched shortly. Heating systems are not part of this consultation and will continue to play a role in the CERT scheme. We will however consider any evidence presented to ensure CERT maximises its contribution to statutory carbon budgets, and this could include low value heating products.

Carbon Sequestration

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent assessment is of progress on development of the UK's carbon capture capabilities.

Charles Hendry: Earlier this year the Global CCS Institute published work identifying up to 80 large-scale, integrated CCS projects that are active or planned. UK projects featured prominently.
	The UK is well-placed to benefit from strengths in engineering expertise and potential for offshore storage of carbon dioxide under the North sea. The Government are determined to capitalise on these advantages and make the UK one of the best places to invest in CCS in the world.
	We are committed to providing public sector investment for four CCS demonstration plants, as set out in the coalition programme for government. In the spending review we announced that up to £1 billion will be invested in the first of these projects. This is the largest confirmed commitment to a single commercial-scale CCS project in the world. We are aiming for the first project to be constructed by 2014-15. The competition is progressing, with front end engineering and design (FEED) studies currently under way.
	We recently completed a market sounding exercise to inform the development of the selection process for projects 2-4. We are currently analysing the information gathered and we aim to set out further details regarding our proposals at the end of the year.
	We will be developing a CCS Roadmap in consultation with industry and key stakeholders, including the new CCS Development Forum that will identify barriers to commercial deployment of CCS and the actions required to overcome them. We will publish the Roadmap in spring 2011.

Climate Change

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent assessment is of the likelihood of restricting a rise in global temperature increase to within two degrees Celsius.

Gregory Barker: The Government are committed to achieving an ambitious global deal to cut emissions consistent with limiting global temperature increases to 2° C, and to helping countries adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change.
	Evidence suggests that the expected increase in global temperatures is likely to be more than 2° C if we do not dramatically increase global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A number of analyses, including those by the DECC-funded AVOID programme, the London School of Economics and, most recently the EU, have been published in the past year which examine the requirements for limiting temperature rise to below 2° C. These show that the chances of achieving this goal are significantly increased if countries deliver emission reductions which will result in global greenhouse gas emissions reaching an early peak (within the next decade) and falling quickly to at least 50% below 1990 levels in 2050 and even lower levels thereafter.
	The pledges submitted to the Copenhagen Accord by over 80 countries, representing about 80% of global emissions, could lead to emissions peaking before 2020 if countries deliver on their high-end pledges in full, although rapid reductions will also be required after 2020 to deliver 2° C

Climate Change: China

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what collaborative projects on energy technology and energy systems planning his Department is undertaking with China; and what the estimated monetary value is of each such project.

Gregory Barker: DECC is engaged in a number of projects with China in this area.
	The Chinese Advanced Power Plan Carbon Capture Options (CAPPCCO) project is looking to ensure that new power plants can be retrofitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies. This project is being led by Imperial college, is due to complete in spring 2011 and valued at £265,000.
	A project on Biomass Co-firing has sought to determine the strategic benefits of this technology in China. It has been led by Cranfield university and completed in October this year, at a cost of £270,000.
	We are supporting a project in Guangdong Province (SE China) at a cost of £60,000 with additional funding coming from both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Strategic Programme Fund and the Global CCS Institute. This project has resulted in CCS being identified as a strategic technology for development.
	In addition, the UK continues to be involved in the EU-China Near Zero Emissions Coal project, phase I of which was completed in October 2009. Estimated costs to the European partners of phase II of this project are between €20 million and €50 million.

Climate Change: China

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to his speech to the GLOBE Forum in Tianjin, China, 7 November 2010, what the evidential basis is of the figure of £3.5 trillion he gave for the monetary value of the global low-carbon and environmental sectors.

Gregory Barker: This figure is based on the Innovas report, commissioned by the then Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, which stated that,
	'The global market value of the low-carbon and environmental goods and services (LCEGS) sector was £3,046 billion in 2007-8. Taking into account different growth rates for over 220 global economies, it is estimated that overall the global LCEGS sector grew by approximately 4% in 2007-8.'
	Allowing for a 4% year-on-year increase, the 2010-11 value of this sector would be an estimated £3,426 billion.
	The full report can be found at:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file50254.pdf

Death: Weather

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for  (a) Communities and Local Government and  (b) Health on the prevention of excess winter deaths in 2010-11.

Gregory Barker: I have regular discussions with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Pickles) and for Health (Mr Lansley) on a range of policy issues and will continue to work closely with them as we develop and take forward policy to reduce the incidence of excess winter deaths.

Energy Act 2010

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will exercise his powers under the Energy Act 2010 to require suppliers to provide social price support to all groups that qualify for cold weather payments and households in receipt of means-tested benefits with children under the age of 16 years.

Gregory Barker: Energy suppliers will be required from April 2011 to provide greater help with the financial costs of energy bills to more of the most vulnerable fuel poor households-with total support of £250 million in 2011-12 rising to £310 million per annum in 2014-15. The regulations requiring suppliers' participation will be made using powers under the Energy Act 2010.
	We intend to consult on the detailed policy design, including eligibility and targeting methods, later this year.

Energy Companies: Pensions

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change from what budget the cost of the efficiency review of energy network operators' pension costs will be met; when he expects that review to be completed; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of that review.

Charles Hendry: The energy regulator, Ofgem will shortly formally commission the Government Actuary's Department to undertake an initial review into energy network operators' pension costs in order to ensure that consumers only fund efficiently incurred pension costs. Pension costs can be significant with the recently concluded electricity distribution price control allowing £1.7 billion of funding. This initial review will cost £30,000, which will be met from within Ofgem's existing licence fee income, and is due to be completed by March 2011.
	If any pension schemes are identified in this initial review as potentially inefficient they will then be subject to a specific efficiency review. The costs of these subsequent reviews, if required, will also be met from within Ofgem's existing licence fee income.

Renewable Energy

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the prospects of reaching the 2020 target for renewable electricity generation.

Charles Hendry: holding answer 12 November 2010
	The Renewable Energy Directive 2009 sets the UK a legally binding target to ensure that 15% of our energy (electricity, heat and transport) comes from renewable sources by 2020.
	Analysis published in 2009 demonstrated that while our target is challenging it is achievable. We are committed to creating the right conditions for companies to invest in renewable energy projects, including the provision of appropriate incentives and the removal of financial barriers.

Crown Currency Exchange

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions HM Revenue and Customs was contacted with concerns about Crown Currency Exchange Limited before its collapse; and which  (a) organisations and  (b) individuals made such contacts.

Mark Hoban: All information received by HM Revenue and Customs is carefully considered and where it relates to HMRC's responsibilities action is taken as appropriate. However section 18 of the Commissioners of Revenue and Customs Act 2005 does not permit HM Revenue and Customs to comment on the affairs of individual customers.

Departmental Regulation

John Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what regulations his Department plans to  (a) repeal and  (b) amend in the next five years.

Justine Greening: The Government's regulatory Forward Programme is due to be published later this year and will provide details of all forthcoming regulation.
	My Department is reviewing the pipeline of legislation inherited from the previous administration and much of this work is well advanced. We will work to identify regulations that could be removed to comply with "One in One out"-Government's commitment that new regulation will be offset by a corresponding equivalent reduction in regulatory burdens.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Paul Uppal: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the number of people that will be affected by his decision not to include Equitable Life with-profits annuitants who drew their pension before September 1992 in his proposed compensation scheme.

Mark Hoban: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Cotswold (Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) on 9 November,  Official Report, column 286W.

Government Departments: Cost-effectiveness

John Pugh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what progress has been made towards the target of £30 billion of efficiency savings set in the 2007 comprehensive spending review;
	(2)  which Departments  (a) met and  (b) did not meet efficiency savings targets agreed with his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Danny Alexander: £14.7 billion of efficiency savings were reported by Departments in their 2010 spring departmental reports-showing that less than 50% of the £35 billion target savings had been achieved two years into a three-year programme.
	The NAO audited a sample of the reported savings and, in its compendium report on the CSR07 VFM programme (HC 291), described just over one-third of these savings as genuine. Applied to the reported savings, this would imply that only £5.59 billion are genuine-less than 20% of the £35 billion target savings.
	The NAO further noted HC 291 that:
	"Our recurring concerns and the slower than expected progress reported to date mean it is unlikely that departments will deliver £35bn of savings which fully meet the CSR07 criteria."
	and this target-based approach had:
	"not made a significant impact on how departments do their business"
	and as having:
	"complex and sometimes counter-intuitive criteria."
	The Government announced in spending review 2010 a more specific and innovative approach to efficiency and reform across the public sector, including:
	a reduction in administration budgets of 34% across the whole of Whitehall and its arm's length bodies saving £5.9 billion a year by 2014-15;
	radically reducing the number of arm's length bodies across government; and
	the Efficiency and Reform Group's tough new efficiency regime which will drive savings in procurement, major projects and estate management.
	As a result, Departments will no longer be required to report against the previous Government's failed efficiency target.

Revenue and Customs: Bank Services

Julian Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the bank accounts used by HM Revenue and Customs have faster payment banking facilities.

David Gauke: HMRC does not operate faster payment banking facilities. When the Faster Payments Service (FPS) was introduced in 2008 the Bank of England was HMRC's main banking supplier. The Bank of England had already taken a strategic decision to withdraw from the provision of retail banking services and consequently did not join the FPS. HMRC's new banking suppliers are RBS and Citibank, both are members of the FPS. HMRC has outline plans to develop its capacity to deliver faster payments, however, other departmental priorities mean it has not been possible to commission the necessary system changes to facilitate this. HMRC continues to keep this under review and will seek to develop its capacity to deliver faster payments when resources allow.

Revenue and Customs: Inspections

Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the average annual  (a) number and  (b) proportion of higher-rate taxpayers who are subject to an HM Revenue and Customs tax inspection.

David Gauke: There are approximately 3.1 million higher rate taxpayers. Any risks identified in the returns of these individuals are largely handled by Local Compliance. Without incurring disproportionate cost we are unable to breakdown the proportion of interventions that we carry out specifically to isolate the higher rate taxpayers.

Cancer: Older People

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent assessment he has made of the accuracy of diagnoses of cancer in the NHS of those aged 65 years and over; and what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the relationship between age and accuracy of cancer diagnoses;
	(2)  what recent assessment he has made of the factors underlying the outcomes of cancer treatment in those aged 65 years and over; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Burstow: As part of the work of the Department's National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative, the National Cancer Action Team supported the Royal College of General Practitioners and the University of Durham to undertake a national audit of cancer diagnosis in primary care to identify ways to improve clinical practice and service delivery.
	The audit has enabled local analysis of the factors that influence diagnosis in primary care. Full analysis has not yet been completed, and therefore no central assessment has yet been made of the relationship between age and diagnosis in primary care based on this data. It is anticipated that the findings of the report will be available in spring 2011.
	The Department is working with Macmillan Cancer Support on a jointly funded project that aims to understand barriers to treatment and to improve appropriate intervention rates for people over 70 who have a cancer diagnosis. The pilot programme aims to identify, test and evaluate ways to assess an older person for cancer treatment; to provide practical support and information to aid patient/practitioner decision making; and to train professionals involved in the pathway to promote age equality and address age discrimination.
	It is anticipated that the pilot projects will run for a 12 month period with the pilots taking place between May 2011 and April 2012. We will then evaluate whether the approaches tested can have a positive impact on intervention and mortality rates for older people.

Care Homes: Inspections

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will review the provision of information on the Care Quality Commission website on the inspection of care homes to ensure that it is up-to-date.

Paul Burstow: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care for England.
	CQC inspection reports reflect an inspection made at a given point in time. When a new report is published, the previous report is not out of date, it becomes a historic record that continues to be available. Reports are presented in chronological order and are clearly date stamped.
	Any report not on CQC's website can be requested through CQC's contact centre.

Diabetes: Nutrition

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the standard of nutrition provided to diabetics in hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: Neither the Food Standards Agency nor Diabetes UK (formerly the British Diabetic Association) recommend special diabetic products for people with diabetes.
	Since April 2010, it has been a requirement of a hospitals' continuing registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), that service users are protected from the risks of inadequate nutrition and dehydration. The CQC will assess trusts against this requirement and have tough enforcement powers in cases where the proper standards are not being met.

North Manchester Hospital: Accident and Emergency Departments

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what consultation he has undertaken on the future of the accident and emergency unit at North Manchester General Hospital.

Simon Burns: The Secretary of State has undertaken no such consultation. Responsibility for local health services lies with the national health service locally. It is for local commissioners to lead and consult on any proposals for local service change.
	This Government are committed to devolving power to local communities-to the people, patients, general practitioners (GPs) and councils who are best placed to determine the nature of their national health services locally. The Government have pledged that, in future, all service changes must be led by clinicians and patients, not be driven from the top down. To this end, we have outlined new, strengthened criteria that decisions on NHS service changes must meet.
	They must focus on improving patient outcomes; consider patient choice; have support from GP commissioners; and be based on sound clinical evidence.
	NHS North West approved the assessment that the Healthy Futures reconfiguration met this criteria on 3 November 2010. The National Clinical Advisory Team report on Healthy Futures, provided as evidence for the Healthy Futures review, supported the clinical case for change and made recommendations to assess the options to centralise some services, including emergency care, on one site in the Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust. It is for local commissioners to consider the application of these recommendations locally.

Western Sahara: Violence

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had in the UN Security Council on measures to prevent further deaths and violence in El Aauin, Western Sahara.

David Lidington: We remain in close touch with members of the Security Council about developments in Western Sahara, a number of whom, like the UK, have expressed concern at the violence.

Zimbabwe: Politics and Government

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of trends in the political situation in Zimbabwe  (a) since 2007 and  (b) since the appointment of Morgan Tsvangirai as prime minister.

Henry Bellingham: The period from 2007 to 2008 saw a resurgence of hope in the run up to the elections of March 2008, followed by a descent into uncontrolled violence before the second round of the parliamentary elections. After Morgan Tsvangirai's decision to withdraw in order to spare Zimbabweans further suffering, Southern African Development Community-sponsored negotiations between the political parties resulted in the formation of the Inclusive Government in February 2009.
	Since then there has been significant economic progress. Inflation has reduced to single figures, goods are available, key services are restored and tax revenue is increasing. This year Zimbabwe's economy is expected to grow for the first time since 1997, with a forecast (IMF) of around 8%.
	Progress on political reform has been slower although there have been some achievements. Earlier this year we were encouraged by the appointment of the Media, Electoral and Human Rights Commissions. Progress by the Commissions has been slow in the face of intransigence from hardliners. However we welcome the issuing of newspaper licences by the Media Commission, an essential element in preparing the conditions for credible elections.
	There has been a considerable reduction in the severity and frequency of human rights abuses since the formation of the Inclusive Government. But we remain concerned about ongoing abuses, particularly around the rule of law and the hardliner's continued exploitation of their control of the security apparatus and judiciary for political ends. The recent constitutional reform process has shown that State actors still have a capacity for violence and intimidation.
	Persistent intransigence from hardliners, including the recent unilateral appointments made by President Mugabe, led Prime Minister Tsvangirai to declare a 'constitutional crisis' last month. We share Prime Minister Tsvangirai's frustration and support him in his determination to remain in the Government. In the absence of a roadmap to credible and properly monitored elections, the Inclusive Government continues to offer the only credible means of transforming Zimbabwe and of delivering basic services to its people. But to succeed, it needs a clear commitment from all parties to work together to implement the reforms set out in the Global Political Agreement.
	We will continue to engage with our international partners, including South Africa, in considering how best to work with reformers in Zimbabwe and the region, to improve prospects of reform and to prepare for credible and properly monitored elections.

Apprentices

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent progress he has made in extending the apprenticeship scheme.

John Hayes: We are firmly committed to boosting the supply of Apprenticeships, in particular at Level 3 and above, which is why one of this Government's first actions was to announce an additional 50,000 adult places for the 2010-11 financial year. This will take the total starts for apprentices of all ages to well over 300,000 this year. For future years we are increasing annual funding for adult apprenticeships by up to £250 million before the end of the spending review period. Therefore by 2014-15, this Government will have in place sufficient funding for 75,000 more adult Apprenticeships places than were provided under the previous Government.
	In this current public expenditure climate we must realise that expanding and improving the Apprenticeship programme depends in no small measure on our ability to persuade a larger and more diverse range of businesses to employ apprentices. We are therefore reducing bureaucracy and making the system simpler for employers and are considering how we might better support employers through improved funding arrangements. Just this month, we joined forces with business leaders and the National Apprenticeships Service (NAS) to launch a new campaign to urge more employers to take on Apprenticeships. Our future plans for Apprenticeships will be set out in more detail in our skills strategy which we will publish shortly.

Apprentices

Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what mechanism his Department uses for the distribution of funding for adult apprenticeships between the regions.

John Hayes: The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) operates a national system to fund post 19 further education and training, there are no regional allocations. Funding allocations to colleges and providers reflect the pattern of employer demand and funding is moved in year to reflect local need.

Apprentices: Females

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent estimate is of the number of women enrolled on apprenticeships of each  (a) type and  (b) salary band in (i) the UK, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) Walsall South constituency.

John Hayes: The following table shows the number of female apprenticeship starts by level for Walsall South constituency, West Midlands region and England for 2008/09, the latest year for which full year data are available.
	
		
			  Female apprenticeship starts by level and geography, 2008/09 
			   Apprenticeship (level 2)  Advanced apprenticeship (level 3)  Total 
			 Walsall South parliamentary constituency 180 60 240 
			 West Midlands region 10,100 5,400 15,500 
			 England 80,300 38,900 119,300 
			  Notes: 1. Figures for West Midlands region and England are rounded to the nearest hundred. Figures for Walsall South parliamentary constituency are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Figures for advanced apprenticeships include a small number of higher level apprenticeships. 3. Figures are based upon the home postcode of the learner and on constituency boundaries which came in to effect in May 2010. 4. The figure for England contains a small number of apprenticeship starts where the postcode of the learner is outside England or where the postcode is not known.  Source: Individualised Learner Record 
		
	
	Information on the pay of apprentices during their apprenticeship is available in a 2007 survey of apprentices' pay:
	http://www.bis.gov.uk/assets/biscore/corporate/migratedD/publications/D/DIUS_RR_08_05
	The average pay for a female apprentice was £147. Information is not available at sub-national level and is for England only.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Simon Hart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will discuss with Allpay the provision of wireless link broadband to remote rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: £530 million of funding to support broadband rollout up to 2015 is available. Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) expects that a mixture of technological solutions including fixed, wireless and satellite will be required to meet broadband goals. BDUK would be happy to meet Allpay to discuss broadband provision. If the company gets in touch officials will arrange a meeting.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to roll out broadband availability to rural areas following the pilots in the three trial areas; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: Broadband Delivery UK are at present focused on delivering the superfast broadband pilots. They are, however, also progressing with the design of a process for the wider deployment of broadband across the UK, once the pilots have commenced.

Business: Government Assistance

Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to attract and retain global businesses within the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Prisk: Business' decisions to invest and remain in the UK are complex. The Government are committed to promoting growth by tackling the deficit, rebalancing the economy and creating the right conditions to support a private sector-led recovery. This includes:
	Clear direction and certainty on deficit reduction.
	Creating a tax regime that is the most competitive corporate tax system in the G20.
	Creating the Office of Tax simplification to provide the Government with independent advice on simplifying the UK tax system and improving our international competitiveness.
	Getting the regulatory framework right and from 1 September, the groundbreaking new One-in, One-out system began.
	Maintaining business investment by ensuring that our legal and institutional frameworks are fair, efficient and transparent and provide the necessary certainty for firms to conduct their business with confidence.
	A reduction in the small business profits rate and the waiver national insurance contributions for new businesses in most areas of the country.
	Tackling real and perceived barriers faced by people wanting to start and grow a business including improving access to finance.
	A key deliverer of the Government's drive to encourage foreign investment is UK Trade and Investment, the UK's national trade and investment promotion agency. UKTI leads on attracting high quality, high value investment to the UK.
	Further details can be found in "A Strategy for Sustainable Growth" published in July 2010,
	http://interactive.bis.gov.uk/comment/growth/
	Other recent action to support these goals include:
	Creating high-quality transport infrastructure-over £10 billion over the spending review to provide new road schemes and to maintain existing roads; fully funding Crossrail and supporting improvements to the London Underground network; and £14 billion for rail improvements.
	Investment in areas where public capital can generate returns-rolling out superfast broadband access across the country; a regional growth fund of £1.4 billion to support investment in infrastructure to promote growth; and investing £1 billion with additional significant proceeds from the sale of government-owned assets to provide incentives for investment in the low-carbon economy through the Green Investment Bank; and
	Delivering outcomes which support growth, skills and research-including £250 million extra funding compared to the previous Government for new adult apprenticeships; and maintaining the science budget in cash terms over the spending review.

Higher Education: Wimbledon

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of school leavers in Wimbledon constituency in  (a) 2005,  (b) 2007 and  (c) 2010 who did not subsequently enter higher education.

John Hayes: Figures relating to the proportion of young people resident in Wimbledon parliamentary constituency who did not subsequently enter higher education (HE) are not available. As an alternative, the available information on the number of 15-years-olds from maintained schools in Merton local authority who did not progress to HE by age 19 is shown in the table. The figures will include some young persons who enter higher education at a later age.
	
		
			  Estimates of the number of 15 -year- olds in 2001/02, 2002/03 and 2003/04 from maintained schools in Merton local authority area who did not progress to HE( 1)  by age 19 in 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 
			  Academic year  Number not progressing to HE by age 19 
			 2005/06 1,125 
			 2006/07 1,065 
			 2007/08 1,115 
			 (1) Includes those who progress to Higher Education courses at English Further Education Colleges.  Notes: Figures are rounded to the nearest five pupils. The estimated number of 15 years in maintained schools in Merton local authority area was 1585 in 2001-02, 1585 in 2002-03 and 1600 in 2003-4  Source:  Matched data from the National Pupil Database, the Higher Education Statistics Agency Student Record and the Individualised Learner Record.

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what locations  (a) have been identified and  (b) are being considered as locations for his proposed innovation centres;
	(2)  what plans he has to consult  (a) universities and  (b) businesses on the location of his proposed new innovation centres.

John Hayes: The network of technology and innovation centres will be established and overseen by the Technology Strategy Board and will comprise of existing regional development agency-funded centres which are excellent and a limited number of new centres. The choice of location for the new centres will pay due consideration to the location of critical mass of research expertise, and business capability without which we inhibit the exchange of know-how and tacit knowledge, as well as the development of active collaborations, which are facilitated by co-location.
	The Technology Strategy Board will now work with industry, universities, stakeholders, and wider government to identify the priority areas, the scale of investment required and governance structure for the elite network of technology and innovation centres by April 2011.

Insolvency

Alun Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assistance is available to employees of companies that have ceased trading but have not registered as insolvent for the purpose of recouping unpaid wages and redundancy monies.

Edward Davey: Under the insolvency provisions contained in the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Redundancy Payments Service of the Insolvency Service (an Executive agency of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) can make payment of unpaid wages from the National Insurance Fund (within statutory limits) to employees but only if the employer is legally insolvent as defined under the 1996 Act. Essentially, if the employer is a company, that means the company is in liquidation, administration or has entered into a company voluntary arrangement. If the company is not legally insolvent, employees can seek to recover the wages they are owed through the courts and they can ultimately petition the court to have the company wound up (liquidated), which would enable them to make a claim on the National Insurance Fund.
	There are separate provisions under the 1996 Act in respect of statutory redundancy payments which enable the Redundancy Payments Service to make payment of redundancy payments to employees if either the employer is legally insolvent or the employee has obtained an award of a redundancy payment from an employment tribunal and the employer has failed to make that payment to the employee. Once a payment is made from the National Insurance Fund, the Redundancy Payments Service will seek to recover that payment from the employer, whenever possible.
	There are no plans to extend the statutory scheme of payments beyond its present limits as this would encourage solvent employers to avoid their responsibilities in respect of wages. The Redundancy Payments Service would also not be in a position to seek to recoup payments by means of a claim against the employer's assets, as it can in insolvency proceedings, and such a change could add significantly to public expenditure.

Institute for Fiscal Studies

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much his Department and its predecessors spent on services provided by the Institute for Fiscal Studies in each of the last 10 years.

Edward Davey: The Department, and its predecessors, has made the following payments to the Institute of Fiscal Studies:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2005/6 6,879 
			 2006/7 32,539 
			 2007/8 23,410 
			 2008/9 38,603 
			 2009/10 44,945 
			 2010/11 103,885 
		
	
	Information for the 2004/5 financial year and earlier can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Motor Vehicles: Qualifications

Andrea Leadsom: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will ensure that the awarding body Edexcel places the qualifications for the BTEC First Diploma and BTEC National Award in Vehicle Technology (Motorsport) onto the Qualifications and Curriculum Framework.

John Hayes: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 11 November 2010,  Official Report, column 483W. The two BTEC qualifications in Vehicle Technology for the Motorsports industry from Edexcel are due to be available on the Qualifications and Credit Framework by the end of this year.

Unemployment: Young People

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people were recorded as not in education, employment or training in  (a) the UK,  (b) the North East and  (c) Redcar constituency in each of the last five years.

John Hayes: Due to differences in the way separate UK countries define and measure the number of people not in education, employment and training we are unable to produce an estimate for the UK as a whole.
	The number of young people not in education, employment or training in England is published by Department for Education (DfE) every quarter. The latest information can be found here and provides estimates for people aged(1)( )16-24, 18-24 and 19-24 years old.
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/NEETQB2_2010.pdf
	The supplementary tables providing a regional breakdown of young people who are NEET is available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/index.shtml
	The following table provides estimates of the number and proportion of people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) in the Redcar and Cleveland local authority in each year from 2004 to 2009.
	(1) Age refers to academic age, which is defined as the age of the respondent at the preceding 31 August. Therefore those aged 16 and above will have completed compulsory full-time education.
	
		
			  People aged 16-24 years-old not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Redcar and Cleveland local authority 
			   Number NEET  Percentage NEET  of all 16-24 year olds in Redcar and Cleveland  95% Confidence  i nterval 
			 2004 2,000 17 +/- 1,000 
			 2005 3,000 18 +/- 1,000 
			 2006 3,000 17 +/- 1,000 
			 2007 3,000 19 +/- 1,000 
			 2008 4,000 28 +/- 1,000 
			 2009 5,000 27 +/- 1,000 
		
	
	This information is from the Annual Population Survey, which covers the period January to December of each year, with 2009 being the most recent estimate available. The Annual Population Survey is the only available source of data with a sample large enough to provide local authority estimates of the number of young people up to the age of 24 who are NEET. However, the sample is not large enough to provide estimates for smaller geographies, such as parliamentary constituencies, or to provide local authority estimates for age ranges narrower than 16 to 24.
	It is important to note that these estimates are subject to large sampling variability and should therefore be treated with caution and viewed in conjunction with their Confidence Intervals, which indicate how accurate an estimate is. For example, a Confidence Interval of +/-1,000 means that the true value is between 1,000 above the estimate and 1,000 below the estimate.

Unemployment: Young People

Jake Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many young people were recorded as not in education, employment or training  (a) nationally,  (b) in the North West and  (c) in Rossendale and Darwen constituency in each of the last 13 years.

John Hayes: The number of young people not in education, employment or training in England is published by Department for Education (DfE) every quarter. The latest information can be found at the following link and provides estimates for people aged(1) 16 to 24, 18 to 24 and 19 to 24-years-old:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/NEETQB2_2010.pdf
	The supplementary tables providing a regional breakdown of young people NEET are available at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000950/index.shtml
	The following table provides estimates of the number and proportion of people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Blackburn with Darwen local authority in each year from 2000 to 2009.
	(1) Age refers to academic age, which is defined as the age of the respondent at the preceding 31 August. Therefore those aged 16 and above will have completed compulsory full-time education.
	
		
			  People aged 16 to 24-years-old not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Blackburn with Darwen local authority 
			   Number NEET  Percentage of all 16 to 24-year-olds NEET in Blackburn and Darwen  95% confidence interval 
			 2000 4,000 20 +/-1,000 
			 2001 4,000 20 +/-1,000 
			 2002 3,000 19 +/-1,000 
			 2003 3,000 15 +/-1,000 
			 2004 3,000 21 +/-1,000 
			 2005 4,000 21 +/- 1,000 
			 2006 3,000 19 +/- 1,000 
			 2007 3,000 21 +/- 1,000 
			 2008 2,000 16 +/- 1,000 
			 2009 3,000 19 +/- 1,000 
		
	
	This information is from the Annual Population Survey, which covers the period January to December of each year, with 2009 being the most recent estimate available. The Annual Population Survey is the only available source of data with a sample large enough to provide local authority estimates of the number of young people up to the age of 24 who are NEET. However, the sample is not large enough to provide estimates for smaller geographies, such as parliamentary constituencies, or to provide local authority estimates for age ranges narrower than 16 to 24.
	It is important to note that these estimates are subject to large sampling variability and should therefore be treated with caution and viewed in conjunction with their confidence intervals, which indicate how accurate an estimate is. For example, a confidence interval of +/- 1,000 means that the true value is between 1,000 above the estimate and 1,000 below the estimate.
	Due to incomplete data, estimates for people not in education, employment and training are not available prior to 2000.

Amateur Swimming Association: Finance

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much funding his Department has provided to the Amateur Swimming Association in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: As the National Governing Body for swimming, the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA) received the following funding from Sport England between 2008 and 2010.
	
		
			  £ 
			   2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Whole Sport Plan (Lottery) 1,709,998 3,333,472 3,144, 527 
			 Whole Sport Plan (Exchequer) 200,000 1,452,095 1,568,873 
			 Club Links (Exchequer) 356,500 - - 
			 EIS Facility Funding (Lottery) 100,000 - - 
			 Step into Sport (Exchequer) 25,000 - - 
			 Total 2,391,498 4,785,567 4,713,400 
		
	
	This Department also gave the ASA £0.17 million in 2008-09, £5.8 million in 2009-10 and £2.7 million in 2010/11 for the recruitment of a network of county swimming co-ordinators and to provide free swimming lessons as part of the Free Swimming Programme that ran between April 2009 and July 2010.

Broadband: DCMS

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department plans to carry out a comprehensive mapping of Scotland's fibre infrastructure.

Edward Vaizey: I have been asked to reply 
	in my capacity as a Minister in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	This Department has made no such assessment. The Digital Economy Act 2010, which came into force in June of this year, gives Ofcom a new duty to report to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) every three years on the UK's communications infrastructure. Ofcom has consulted on the scope of the first report which is due for publication in 2011. In addition, BIS is currently consulting on changes to the EU framework directive (Directive 2002/21/EC), specifically article 12(4) which allows for national authorities, including national regulatory authorities, to request information from companies to provide a detailed picture of the infrastructure in a member state.

Broadband: Milton Keynes

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what support his Department intends to provide to Milton Keynes council to address gaps in broadband provision in Milton Keynes;
	(2)  what progress he has made on developing a broadband strategy for Milton Keynes.

Edward Vaizey: £530 million has been allocated in the spending review to support broadband rollout throughout the UK up till 2015. No specific plans have been made for Milton Keynes or any other constituency although the Government have also announced the locations of four super fast broadband pilot projects. A national broadband strategy will be published before the end of the year.

National Heritage Memorial Fund

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what consideration he has given to reviewing the composition of the  (a) board of trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund and  (b) regional and national grant assessment teams; and whether he has any plans to appoint new trustees and new members of the teams.

John Penrose: There are three forthcoming appointments to the Board of the National Heritage Memorial and Heritage Lottery Fund. Two of these will be advertised imminently and represent an opportunity to broaden knowledge of the heritage of the regions of England, further enhance expertise in the historic environment, and build on the board's understanding of how diverse communities can be engaged with heritage and culture. In addition, there will be a need for a new Trustee for Scotland when the incumbent stands down in March.
	Members of the Heritage Lottery Fund's regional and country committees are appointed by the chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund. Applications have recently closed for chairs of the committees in the North East, North West and Yorkshire and Humber. Further opportunities across the regions of England, and in Northern Ireland and Scotland, will arise in the next 18 months, and will be publicised during 2011.

Public Houses: North West

David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many public houses have closed in  (a) Bury North constituency and  (b) the North West since July 2007.

James Brokenshire: I have been asked to reply.
	Data on the number of licenses surrendered, lapsed, revoked, forfeited, suspended or withdrawn in the north-west region over the last four years are set out in tables which will be placed in the House Libraries. The data are not available broken down to constituency level.

UK Sport: Personnel

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many employees of UK Sport will be responsible for the promotion of  (a) elite and  (b) grassroots sport following its merger with Sport England;
	(2)  what functions of UK Sport and Sport England are to be merged;
	(3)  what mechanisms UK Sport will have in place to promote the interests of elite athletes in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland,  (c) Wales and  (d) Northern Ireland following its merger with Sport England;
	(4)  whether UK Sport will have separate budgets for the promotion of  (a) elite and  (b) grassroots sport following its merger with Sport England; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what the organisational structure of UK Sport will be following its merger with Sport England; and what elements of the structure will have responsibility for  (a) elite and  (b) grassroots sport;
	(6)  what plans he has for the composition of the boards of  (a) UK Sport and  (b) Sport England following their merger;
	(7)  whether he expects any redundancies to result from the merger between UK Sport and Sport England;
	(8)  what arrangements UK Sport plans to make following its merger with Sport England to promote the interests of elite athletes in the Isle of Man who compete as UK athletes in international events.

Hugh Robertson: The Government intend to merge UK Sport and Sport England into a single non-departmental body. We expect the merger to take effect in April 2013. The new body will incorporate the current functions of both UK Sport and Sport England, although we intend for there to be separate divisions for UK elite sport and English community sport, with distinct funding streams.
	The new body will create a more unified, coherent and cost-effective structure for sport in the UK, bringing the bodies together in one location, maximising administrative efficiencies, and working in partnership with the Home Country Sports Councils. Sport England and UK Sport are already working closely together to plan for the merger and to identify administrative efficiencies in the light of the spending review settlement.
	The new body will represent the interests of elite athletes across the UK. Athletes from the Isle of Man who compete as UK athletes will continue to be able to access world class performance funding, providing that they meet the required performance criteria.
	We are currently finalising the governance arrangements for the merger project with UK Sport and Sport England, before we take final decisions on detailed issues like the composition of the board or the precise organisational structure of the new body and potential implications for current employees. We are also working closely with our counterparts in the devolved Administrations.
	We are intending to hold a Sports Cabinet, involving all of these parties, early in the New Year.